Emblem of the Mexican Revolution or bandit, loved or hated, praised and reviled. 100 years after his death, Pancho Villa is one of the most important figures in the history of Mexico and yet, it continues to be scrutinized and persecuted for its chiaroscuro.
For Guadalupe Villa, granddaughter of the revolutionary and historian who has dedicated more than 40 years to his study, that duality between good and evil will haunt him forever.
“In historiography we are always going to find that duality: the bandit or the one with bonhomie, who cares about the poor, about the education of children and young people. That will never change, ”he explained in an interview with EFE on the occasion of his centenary of death, which will take place this Thursday.
Although she is often accused of justifying her grandfather’s life, she recognizes his two faces: that of the young bandit and the man who is violent towards women, but also that of the revolutionary leader who watched over the development of Mexico and its most disadvantaged.
“Yes, he was a bandit. He tells that at the age of 16 he had to join a group of bandits because he had to join someone to survive. If you don’t put yourself in that period mentally, this is not understood, ”he stressed.
Although from that historical revisionism it is impossible for the figure of a man who ordered rapes and murders to be sustained, the historian asked to take into account the social context of Mexico at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th.
“There are women’s campaigns saying that he was macho, and yes, he was: at that time men were macho, violent, controlling. They are judged with the eyes of now, but then there were no human rights, nor were they known or exercised with the concept that we now have, ”he replied.
The historiographical smear campaign, however, goes back much further, since he was blamed for the failure of the Mexican Revolution. Years go by and his figure is never gray, she is always white or black.
Biographical studies of authors such as the Austrian Friedrich Katz (1998), the Spanish-Mexican Paco Ignacio Taibo II (2006) or Villa’s own granddaughters -Guadalupe and Rosa Helia-, however, have allowed us to contemplate him as a human being and not only as the protagonist of an immense bronze statue located in the city of Parral, Chihuahua state, northern Mexico.
“His figure is changing, he is seen in a more favorable light, but there is never a lack of those who continue to insult him. My quest in this life is to talk about the things he did well, because he did them.Guadalupe insisted.
villa lives
Born in 1878 in the northern state of Durango under the name of José Doroteo Arango Arámbula, Villa’s life was closely linked to the armed struggle and as commander of the Northern Division he earned a place in the history of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917).
Although perhaps the epic aura surrounding his figure reached its zenith when he tried to invade US territory in 1916, if he remains alive in the hearts of so many Mexicans it is because of his social struggle.
“Villa was born poor, he was probably a mistreated child, who did not study, who had economic and emotional deprivations, and managed to come back with effort, work and dedication. This led him to assess what would happen if all this was reproduced: when they asked him how to move the country forward, he said that with work and education, ”his granddaughter had an impact.
“He is still alive in the minds of Mexicans because many people who suffer poverty, injustice and persecution, who feel that they are not taken into account, identify with him,” he added.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador decreed that 2023 would be the year of General Francisco Villa.
His face, outlined by a distinctive mustache, is still depicted on T-shirts; his name resonates when Mexicans take to the streets to demand their rights; and his life takes the screens.
Taking advantage of the anniversary of his assassination -he was shot several times while driving his car through Chihuahua, the state of which he was the leader and governor-, a television series and a radio soap opera about him are released.
In addition, the National Institute of Historical Studies of the Revolutions of Mexico (Inehrm), dependent on the Ministry of Culture, organized a discussion on the lesser-known aspects of his life, accompanied by an exhibition of 26 artistic works.
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